Larissa Sansour: While We Count Our Earthquakes

Kunsthal Extra City is proud to present the first solo exhibition in Belgium by Larissa Sansour (East Jerusalem, 1973): While We Count Our Earthquakes.

Spanning video works, opera, and sculpture, the exhibition explores themes of loss, inherited trauma, and environmental catastrophe through speculative narratives and science-fiction aesthetics. At the heart of the exhibition is As If No Misfortune Had Occurred in the Night, a haunting operatic video work featuring Palestinian soprano Nour Darwish and composed by Anthony Sahyoun. Drawing on Gustav Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder and the traditional Palestinian song Al Ouf Mash’al, the aria echoes throughout the former Dominican church, immersing visitors in a powerful sonic meditation on grief and resistance.

Sansour’s work reimagines the history and possible futures of Palestine by intertwining elements of opera, film, and sculpture. The exhibition also features the acclaimed science-fiction film In Vitro, first shown at the Danish Pavilion of the 2019 Venice Biennale, as well as a new sculptural work, From the Remains of Those We Lost, which delves into questions of genetics, cloning and legacy.

Born in East Jerusalem and now based in London, Larissa Sansour is internationally known for her politically charged and visually striking work. Originally trained as a painter, she transitioned early in her career to photography and video, drawing from pop culture and activism. In recent years, she has collaborated closely with writer and director Søren Lind to produce works that bridge science fiction and urgent geopolitical realities. Her work has been exhibited worldwide, with recent solo shows at Amos Rex (Helsinki), Göteborgs Konsthall, KINDL (Berlin), and The Whitworth (Manchester). In 2019, she represented Denmark at the Venice Biennale and in 2020, she was a joint winner of the Jarman Award.

While We Count Our Earthquakes turns the church space of Kunsthal Extra City into a charged site where past, present, and imagined futures converge, making loss audible, memory tangible, and the struggle for survival and identity starkly visible.